Die press for printing and embossing



F. W. WOOD.

DIE PRESS FOR PRINTING AND EMBOSSING.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 3. I920.

Patented July 25, 1922.

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F. W. WOOD.

DIE PRESS FOR PRINTING AND EMBOSSING.

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DIE PRESS FOR PRINTING AND EMBOSSING.

- APPLICATION FILED MAY 3. 192". I 1,428,589,, Patented July 25, 1922.

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F. W. WOOD.

DIE PRESS FOR PRINTING AND EMBOSSING.

h APPLICATION FILED MAY 3, 1920. 1,4Q3,890 Patented July 25, 1922.

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FREDWECK WILLIAM WOOD, ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR T WOQDS DIE PRESS IMPROVEMENTS CGMPANY, LIMITED, OF LONDON, ENGLAND,

A GQMPMY 01E GREAT BRITAIN.

PRESS FQR PRINTING AND EMBOSSING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented an as. race.

1 Application filed May 3, 1920. Serial No. 378,674.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK VVILLIAM WOOD, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Brooklyn Luzley, Ashtonunder-Lyne, Lancashire, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Die Pre'sses for Printing and Embossing, of which thefol'lowing is a specification.

lhis invention relates to die-presses for use 'in printing from engraved plates or dies on paper or other materials, and as com pared .with die-presses hitherto used for similar purposes offers. the advantage of easy accessibility to all parts, a perfect register of the providing a relatively-wide feed space, and having the whole of the manipulating mechanism below the feed board so as to avoid both the danger frequently arisingout of the handling of overhead mechanism, and

/ the wastage of printing material due to dripping oil resulting from such overhead a'rrangements. 4

Another great advantage resides in the fact that the printing takes place face upwards so that the attendant can survey the operation without being: forced as hitherto to turn the printing material face upward, and thereby run the risk as frequently happens, of Spoiling the impression by bringing it into contact 'with the feed-table or other parts of the machine; I

These and other advantages which will be hereinafter clearly realized are due in the first place to the provision of a press in which the die used is carried face downcan take place in the direction of its width or length or at any angle between the two, as may be desirable or called for by the par ticular style or configuration of the lettering-F or matter employed in the design.

he precision of the printing operation is ensured by the provision of a register mechanism used in conjunction with the/die holder,.and adapted to immovably lock the die holder in its definitely adjusted position during the printing operation, while for the checking of the impression, if it be desirable,"prov1sion is made of a device preferably connected with the ram which carries the counterpart, so as to render the die and counter die while and isadapted to reciprocate, and in ram itself flexible and capable of being mechanically adjusted to a fine degree.

Further, according to this invention, the

wiper and inker are arranged preferably in the form of a single unit in the closest proximity one to the other with the object to reduce as much' as possible the interval between inking and wiping and so, :moreover, as not only to minimize the dangerof solidification of the ink'on the die, but also to cause the wiping thereof to be effected so efficiently that a considerable saving of ink and wiping material (if the latter s used) is attained, and the surplus ink removed from the die may flow back directly to the ink reservoir, without possibility of deterioration.

For the manipulation of wiping material, if employed, the improved machine is in addition provided with controlling and compensating mechanism, such that the feed of the wiping material from the reserve reel to the waste reel is automatically controlled, andpreferably these reels as well as the wiper and inker are arranged on a common bracket or member adapted to be moved into and out of operative position in precise 'synchronism with the operation of the die itself, the arrangement moreover being by 'prefprence such as to enable the wiperand inker to be automatically held in the inoperative position at will when their use is not desired.

lhe characteristic features and important details of the machine will be more fully understood from the following description of the annexed drawings, in which Figure. 1 is a front view of a die-press constructed according to this invention.

Figure 2 is a central vertical section thereof.

Figure 3 is a detail view showing the wiper pad cushioning arrangement.

Figures 4: to 8 show on an enlarged scale, detail views of the feed, take up, non-return and automatic compensating mechanism used in connect-ion with the wiping arrangements, and

Figures 9 and 10 are wiper and inker trip clutch device.

Rising from a base plate 1 are as shown the four main columns 2 mounted between the upper ends of which is the stationary crosshead 3 of the machine.

detail views of the Securely attached to this crosshead is a bracket 1. having its lower face precisely machined into a guideway 5 for the reciprocation of the die carriage. This carriage 6 is provided with an annular depending flange 7 in the cavity of which is fitted the dieholder 8, by means of a circular fiange 9 which is provided with a wedge shaped groove adapted to be locked by inter-engagmg .wedges in the usual well known manner, so as to enable the die-holder to be held in the desired position, and to be readily adjustable to different positions.

The lower face of the dieholder 8 is pro vided with two locking jaws adapted to receive and hold the die 10 in the requisite o sition and to enable the die to be adjuste in the well known manner to any angular position between its length and breadth. Connected to the lateral face of the crosshead is an upright socket 11 adapted toguide a register block 12 employed for ensuring the precise position of the die and die-holder during the printing operation. As shown, the block 12 is provided with a guide stem 13, and seated against the upper block of the socket 11 is a spring 14, tending toforce the block 12 in a downward direction, and adjustable by a screw nipple 15. The block 12 is provided with a sloping surface 16 adapted to co-operate with a register catch 17 fitted laterally to the carriage flange 7 so as to counteract any tendency on the part of the -die-holder to rebound or move out of its precise position.

These parts in their co-operation consti- -tute a. very eflicient register mechanism,

which is operated by a lever 18 from the main cam gear of the machine at the requisite intervals, as will be readily understood.

The feed board is shown 91319,- and is located between the die and the ram on a precise level with the counterpart 20. This counterpart 20 is attached to the counterplate 21, which is removably fitted in the ead'piece 22 of the ram casing. itted in this ram casing is a block 23, which as usual is operated from a toggle of the main gear so as to impart by reciprocating movement the pressure requisite for the printing operation.

two members are provided face to face with projections which normally are out of contact with one another leaving between them a gap hereinafter referred to as the adjusting gap. The upper member 24 is slidingly held against the corresponding face "of the ramhead 22, and in its position is controlled by a spring actuated pull rod 27 atone end,

and by a hand actuated bar 28 at the 0 p0- member 24:, moreover, is a notch 29 for engagement with a trip catch 30 which is pivoted at a convenient place and is adapted to be controlled by means of appropriate levers arranged within easy reach of the operator. It will be seen that as the pawl portion of the trip 30 is raised by the operator, the member 24 is immediately pulled to the right by the pull rod 27, from which position it can be restored by means of the hand bar 28 when desired. The lower member 25 is seated on the flat of a wedge 31 the sloping portion of which is-fitted on the sloping face on the block 23. This wedge 31 can be moved in and out of its space by means of an adjusting screw 32 movably secured in a face plate 33 of the ram 'casing.

In this way, the pressure check member 25 can be raised or lowered according to requirements, and a fine adjustment of the gap 26 may thereby be accomplished for the exact control of the pressure to be imparted to the counterpart. It willbe seen that when the pressure check members 24 and 25 are offset one with regard to the other so that the teeth of one member face the gaps in the other, no pressure can be imparted to the counterpart, and the operator has it therefore in his power by actuating the trip 30 to displace the two members, and thereby to prevent operative pressure to be transmitted to the die members at any requisite moment.

Arranged normally in the path of the die 10 is the wiper 34- and inker 35. As shown, the wiper and inker are in close proximity one to the other, and are moreover arranged to form a unit appropriately mounted to be carried by a single bracket 36 composed of a substantially u-shaped upright structure.

The wiper pad is pivoted at 37 in a head piece 38 which is fitted within a box 39 which in turn is rigidly secured to the upper part of the bracket 36. The head 38 is within this box supported by a sliding wedge 40 which is guided by the bottom and sides of the box 39, and, by means of sloping grooves with which the corresponding fiangeson the head 38 engage, is adapted to raise or lower the head 38 as may be desired. As stated, the wiper pad 34 is pivoted at 37, that is to say at only one point about which-it can be tilted to any fine degree in order to provide a surface adjusted to the die face to any desired inclination. I v v For the/purpose of its adjustment and cushioning the wiper pad is provided on its under side with preferably three sockets (see Fig. 3) the-gcentral one of which, marked 41 in the drawing, is adapted to receive 'an adjusting screw 42 operated by,

means of a worm g'ear'43 by the operator whenever required, and as shown, the lower stem portion of the adjustment screw 42 extends freely through the head 38 so as to iaaaeee provide for a certain amount of vertical play of the wiper pad in adjustment. The other sockets it on the under side of the wiper pad (see Fig. 3).form spring boxes for cushioning purposes.

The inker comprises in the well-known manner the, requisite ink feed roller set suitablyi disposed in the ink reservoir 45. As shown, this'reservoir is carried in a lateral bracket 4:6 which is mounted on the bracket 36 in such close proximity'to the rear edge of the wiper pad 34 that the distance between the front edge of the ink reservoir and the rear edge of the Wiper pad is reduced to the smallest admissible minimum thereby reliably excluding the danger of the ink solidifying in the interval between the inking and wiping operations. On the bracket 46, the ink reservoir is adjustable both in the horizontal direction for the purpose of adjusting the inking roller according to the size of the die employed, by means of an adjustment screw 47, and in a vertical direction by means of an adjustment screw 48 for the purpose of varying the .position of the inking roller according to varying thicknesses of dies employed in the machine.

Suitably arranged, immediatelynbove the front edge of the ink reservoir 4:5 and in close proximity to the rear end of the wiper pad 34, is a scraper device 49 preferably composed of a flexible steel blade held in a' rigid steel member or frame so as to be readily interchangeable and adjustable in the path of the die in every case so" that as the die returns from the inker the flexible steel operates with a shaving action onv the die face thereby taking off all superfluous ink and leaving only a polishing action to be subsequently performed by wiping paper or other means. Theink thus removed from the die face by the scraper 49 is caused, as

till

will be seen, to flow immediately back into the ink reservoir. it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, that by the provision of a scraping device, as described, in such close proximity to the wiper and ink reservoir,-wiping material for the purpose of wiping'the die could, in many instances, be dispensed with altogether, resulting in a considerablesaving both in paper and in the construction of the machine, due, in that case, tothe possible absence of the usual accessories carrying and operating a wiping web of paper or the like. In addition the saving of ink is very considerable as compared with previous processes in which ink in recovered. only after it hasbeen in contact with the wiping paper and thereby is subject to considerable deterioration.

As shown, the bracket 36 carrying the wiper and inker mechanisms is vertically guided between two brackets50 secured to themain frame of the press and at its bottom is supand 10) suitably controlled and timed from the main driving mechanism of the machine so that at the precise moment during the forward movement of the die both the wiper pad 34 and the inker 35', together with the scraper device 49 are retracted, and for the return or printing movement of the die are brought back into the path of thedie, however, in such a way that only after the forward edge of the die is slightly advanced beyond the inking point, is the inking roller actually caused to make contact with the die face, thus always leaving the front edge of the die free of ink. This again facilitates the subsequent cleaning of the die.

Where, in this machine, wiping material such as a web of paper or the like is to be employed, the arrangement is, as shown, preferably such that both the fresh paper reel 53 andthe used paper reel 55 are arranged inthe bracket 36. The wiping paper web 52 from the reserve reel 53 travels over the wiper pad'3 i and afterileaving the latter passes over guide roller. 5-1 and is wound round the collapsible reel 55 journalled below the reel 53 in the bracket 36. This col- .lapsible reel is providedwith a proper feed mechanism (see Figs. 4 and 5) take-up and non-return mechanism (see Figs. 6 and 7) and an automatic compensating device preferably as shown in Figure 8.

The winding of the used paper web on to the collapsible reel is effected by the rotation of the latter through the medium of a link 56 (see Fig. 8) connected to the eccentric rod 57 (see Fig. 2) and operating on a disc 58 (see Fig.

engage with a ratchet wheel 60 so that the latter is caused to revolve. According to the size of the die in use the amount of paper to be fed is determined and thus the feed remains constant throughout the run.

l) carrying pawls 59 which Attached to an outer disc 61 of the feed mechanism (Fig. 5). is a slotted plate 62 graduated'for the lengths of feed and when setting this to the required graduation use is made of a hood 63 secured on the inner side of the disc 61 and adapted by adjust- I ment at will to cover a predetermined number of teeth of the ratchet wheel 60, whereby, although the length of stroke on the operating link 56 is constantthe length of feed may be regulated precisely according to requirements. As the diameter of the waste reel 55 increases the length of feed would normally increase in proportion; in order to compensate for this and automatically to ensure a constant predetermined length of feed provision is made of a roller 64: resting on the peripheryof the waste reel 55 and attached to one end of a bell crank lever 65. Unearth of the bell crank lever 65. is slotted for the guidance of a pin-66 which is adjustably secured in the plate62 so that ire ported by a cam shaft 51 (see also Figs. 9 as the roller 64 rises onthe increasing volume of waste paper wound on the reel it causes, through the linkage described, the slotted plate 62 to actuate the hood 63 and to screen an increasing numberof ratchet teeth, thereby controlling the throw of the pawls, and accordingly the feed'of paper, to the desiredextent. It is important that after the paper has been fed forward no return motion should take placebetween the collapsible reel 55 and the wiper pad 34, as otherwise slackness .in the paper would result in fracture of the wiping material.

In order to counteract this possibilty the spindle of the reel 53 is controlled by a friction screw (not shown) which prevents overrunning, while for the collapsible reel use is made by preference of the arrangement illustrated in Figures 6 and 7 This contrivance consists of a ratchet wheel 67 and three pawls 68, offset one to the other in such connected by a link 69 to a rocker arm 70 to which in turn is pivoted the connecting rod 57 operated from the eccentric 71 which is mounted on a shaft 72 driven from the main cam shaft 73 through a mutilated gear or the like (not shown). The ram 23 is actuated by the well known toggle 76 already referred to.

The cam shaft 73 is in its turn driven from an intermediate shaft 74 and the latter is driven from the main driving shaft 75 which derives its movement from an appropriate motor or any desired driving source.

The operation of the press is as follows Assuming the die 10 having been properly fitted in the die holder 8 and the wiper 34 and the inker 35 adjusted accordingly, the machine is started and as the die travels towards the wiper the operator places the paper or other material to be printed upon on the counterpart in the requisite position into the feeding space thus opened. During this backward movement of the die carriage the bracket 36 is in its lowered position so that the wiper pad and inker are out of the path of the die face. As the die commences its movement towards the printing position the bracket 36 due to the cam shaft 51 being appropriately operated through a suitableconnection from a'cam on the shaft 72, is gradually raised and so timed in this movement that the inking roller 35 is brought into contact with the die face just at the moment the forward edge of the die is clear thereof, the wiper pad and scraper 49 being simultaneously raised into the path of the die so that in its forward movement the die is efficiently scraped and polished by the scraper blade or blades 49, and the wiper pad 34, before reaching its printing position, in which it is automatically locked by the block 12 of the registering mechanism herein-before de scribed. I i a At the instant at which the die reaches its printing position the ram 23 is operated by the toggles 76' so as to raise the counterpart 20 with the paper thereon into contact with the die with the requisite pressure which has been predetermined by the adjustment of the pressure check members 24 and 25 in the manner already set forth. Immediately after the impression has been accomplished the ram is automatically lowered and-the die recommences its rearward stroke, thus again freeing the feed space to enable the operator to remove the printed sheet and replace it by the fresh blank, after which the operation is repeated. If at any moment it should be desirable to check the impression all the operator has to do is to actuate either one or the other of two levers arranged within easy reach in order to throw out the catch 30 and enable the check member 24 to be pulled out of register with the check member 25, thereby rendering the ram action inoperative, as will be readily understood. Moreover, as it may be desirable at times for the die to travel without coming into contact with either the inker or wiper an arrangement is provided whereby the bracket 36 is, for any desired period, disconnected from its actuating gearand allowed to remain in its retracted position. A convenient form of this-arrangement is shown in. Figures 9 and 10 where the cam shaft 51 is connected to a sliding sleeve 77 which by means of a suitable lever manipulated by the operator can be coupled with or detached from the actuating mechanism of this cam shaft. i

It is obvious that the details of the construction shown and described could be readily varied by "those skilled in the art without departing from the main spirit of this invention which therefore should not be held to be limited by the specific construction or arrangement of the mechanism of the machine scribed.

What I claim and desire to Letters Patent is 1. In a die press for use in printing from engraved plates or dies on paper or other protect by materials, in cbmbination a die acting face downwards and reciprocating in the plane of the die, inker and wiper devices with an hereinbefore particularly deinterposed scraper immediately above the front edge of the ink reservoir and close to the rear edge ofj the wiper and means for operating-said inker, scraper and wiper devices in unison so that for the operative stroke of the die the inking roller is not brou ht into contact with .thedie until after the orward edge of the die has passed its inking position.

2. n a die press for use in printing from engraved plates ordies on paper or other materials, in combinationv a die acting face downwards and reciprocating inthe plane of the die, a wiper pad in the path of said die pivoted at one end and spring cushioned at the other and means for adjusting the said ad so as to present a predetermined inclines face to the said die as it travels towards the printing position substantially as set forth. A

3. In a die press for use in printing from engraved plates or dies on paper or other materials, in combination a die acting face.

downwards and reciprocating in the plane of the die, wiper, scraper and inker devices mounted on a common support, a cam gear for operating the said support and actuated from the main driving gear, and coupling means interposed between the said cam gear and main driving ear, and operable manually so as to web e the operator to maintain the wiper, scraper and inker bevices in their retracted position for any desired perlod;

4. In a die press for use in printing from engraved plates "'or dies on paper or other" materials, in combination a die acting face downwards and reciprocating 1n the plane of the die, inker, scraper and wiper decompensating link gear mechanism substantially as set forth.

device for the 5. In a die press of the character described having a die arranged to act face downwardly and reciprocate in' a substantially, horizontal direction, an upright member earring a ,wiper, means for raising and lowering said member in'unison with the d1e movements, an nk reservoir supported from said upright member and carrying an v inking roller, a scraper close to the edge of said reservoir in proximity to said wiper, and means for adjustin both vertic'allynnd horlzontally relative to said upright member.

6. In a die press of the character .described having a downwardly facing hori zontally reciprocating dieand coacting vertically moving platen, a substantially U-shaped upright member, a-supportfora wiper sheet adjustably mounted at the top of said member, reels carried between the sides of said member for carrying a strip of wiper material with means for operating them, and an inker and scraper adjustable with regard to each other andthe said upright member in close proximity to said wiper support.

said ink reservoir 

